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2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule in photos
By RJ Kraft | Wednesday, January 6, 2021
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Busch Clash Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. ETFS1/MRNThis year's Busch Clash will be run on the Daytona Road Course and under the lights. The eligibility for the exhibition race consists of 2020 Busch Pole Award winners, past Busch Clash winners, Daytona 500 champions and former Daytona 500 Busch Pole winners — all of whom competed full time in 2020 — as well as 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoff drivers, race winners and stage winners. All total, 24 drivers are eligible to run in the event.
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Duel at DaytonaFeb. 11 at 7 p.m. ETFS1/MRNThe Duel races at Daytona set the lineup and field for the Daytona 500. The top 10 in each Duel will also receive points. The front row is set via the qualifying session that will be held Feb. 10.
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Daytona International SpeedwayFeb. 14 at 2:30 p.m. ETFOX/MRNDenny Hamlin will look to become the first driver to win three straight Daytona 500s in the 63rd running of The Great American Race.
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Daytona Road CourseFeb. 21 at 3 p.m. ETFOX/MRNThe Daytona Road Course takes the place of Auto Club Speedway from the originally announced schedule. Chase Elliott will look to win his fifth straight road-course race in the Cup circuit.
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Homestead-Miami SpeedwayFeb. 28 at 3:30 p.m. ETFOX/MRNThe Miami race marks the first 1.5-mile race of the season and ends the opening three-weekend points-paying stanza in Florida.
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Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayMarch 7 at 3:30 p.m. ETFOX/PRNJoey Logano has won the last two spring races in Las Vegas. Can he make it three in a row and extend Ford’s spring streak to four in a row?
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Phoenix RacewayMarch 14 at 3:30 p.m. ETFOX/MRNThe season's first race at Phoenix will mark the 50th Cup race at the 1-mile venue.
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Atlanta Motor SpeedwayMarch 21 at 3 p.m. ETFOX/PRNKevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski have combined to win the last four races at the 1.54-mile track.
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Bristol Motor SpeedwayMarch 28 at 3:30 p.m. ETFOX/PRNSlide jobs are sure to be plentiful as Bristol will transform into a dirt venue for its spring race. It will be the first premier series event on dirt in more than 50 years.
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Martinsville SpeedwayApril 10 at 7:30 p.m. ETFS1/MRNSaturday night is more than all right for short-track racing under the lights at "The Paperclip."
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Richmond RacewayApril 18 at 3 p.m. ETFOX/MRNThe Richmond spring race returns after a one-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be run in the daytime for the first time since 2017.
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Talladega SuperspeedwayApril 25 at 2 p.m. ETFOX/MRNFord has won nine of the last 11 races at the 2.66-mile Alabama superspeedway.
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Kansas SpeedwayMay 2 at 3 p.m. ETFS1/MRNThe spring race at the 1.5-mile track is now a daytime affair for the 2021 season.
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Darlington RacewayMay 9 at 3:30 p.m. ETFS1/MRNDarlington will host two races in 2021 — the first of which will be the annual throwback event, which has moved to the spring.
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Dover International SpeedwayMay 16 at 2 p.m. ETFS1/MRNFor the first time since 1970, the "Monster Mile" will play host to one race in 2021.
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Circuit of the AmericasMay 23 at 2:30 p.m. ETFS1/PRNThe NASCAR Cup Series makes its debut at the Austin, Texas, road course and will utilize the "long course" for the weekend.
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Charlotte Motor SpeedwayMay 30 at 6 p.m. ETFOX/PRNCharlotte hosts its traditional Memorial Day weekend race with the 400-lap, 600-mile event serving as the longest race of the season.
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Sonoma RacewayJune 6 at 4 p.m. ETFS1/PRNThe Cup Series is set to return to Sonoma after a one-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic — a track where Martin Truex Jr. has won the last two times in wine country.
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All-Star Open/All-Star RaceJune 13 at 6 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. ETFS1/MRNTexas will host the All-Star events for the first time in its history — and closer to the middle of the season — with the winner scoring a cool $1,000,000 in the exhibition event.
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Nashville SuperspeedwayJune 20 at 3:30 p.m. ETNBCSN/MRNThe Cup Series will run the 1.33-mile oval for the first time in series history. The last national series races here came in 2011 with the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series.
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Pocono RacewayJune 26 at 3 p.m. ETNBCSN/MRNFor the second straight year, Pocono will host a doubleheader weekend. This is the only scheduled doubleheader weekend of 2021.
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Pocono RacewayJune 27 at 3:30 p.m. ETNBCSN/MRNThe "Tricky Triangle" has been dominated by the Toyota camp in recent years with the manufacturer winning six of the last seven races there.
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Road AmericaJuly 4 at 2:30 p.m. ETNBC/MRNThe Wisconsin road course — a fixture in recent years on the Xfinity circuit — joins the Cup schedule for the first time since 1956. This is one of seven road courses on the schedule in 2021.
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Atlanta Motor SpeedwayJuly 11 at 3:30 p.m. ETNBCSN/PRNFor the first time since 2010, Atlanta will host two races in a season.
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New Hampshire Motor SpeedwayJuly 18 at 3 p.m. ETNBCSN/PRNThe “Magic Mile” will host its 50th Cup Series race with its 2021 event.
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Watkins Glen InternationalAug. 8 at 3 p.m. ETNBCSN/MRNFollowing the two-weekend Olympics break, Watkins Glen rejoins the schedule after a one-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chase Elliott has won the last two races here.
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Indianapolis Road CourseAug. 15 at 1 p.m. ETNBC/IMS Radio NetworkThe Brickyard will look a little different this year as the Cup ranks will run the Indianapolis Road Course that the Xfinity Series used last summer.
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Michigan International SpeedwayAug. 22 at 3 p.m. ETNBCSN/MRNFord has won the last six races in its backyard with Kevin Harvick winning four of those for the blue oval.
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Daytona International SpeedwayAug. 28 at 7 p.m. ETNBC/MRNThe playoff field will be set after the regular-season finale at a track where anything can happen.
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Darlington Raceway*Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. ETNBCSN/MRNThe playoffs kick off on Labor Day weekend with the start of the Round of 16 at “The Lady in Black.”
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Richmond Raceway*Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET NBCSN/MRNThe three winners of the Richmond playoff race have gone on to make that year's Championship 4.
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Bristol Motor Speedway*Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. ETNBCSN/PRNThunder Valley will play host to the Round of 16 elimination race for the second straight season.
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Las Vegas Motor Speedway*Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. ETNBCSN/PRNSin City could change the playoff fortunes for several playoff contenders as the Round of 12 begins.
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Talladega Superspeedway*Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. ETNBC/MRNThe wild-card round of the playoffs continues with the high banks and high speeds of Talladega.
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Charlotte Roval*Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. ETNBC/PRNThe Round of 12 closes out with the Roval — a track that reigning champion Chase Elliott has won at the last two times.
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Texas Motor Speedway*Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. ETNBC/PRNTexas' lone points-paying race moves up to open the Round of 8 this season — it was previously the middle race in the Round of 8.
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Kansas Speedway*Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. ETNBCSN/MRNBack-to-back 1.5-mile tracks will open up the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs.
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Martinsville Speedway*Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. ETNBC/MRNHalloween. The shortest track on the circuit. Four drivers facing elimination from the playoffs as the Championship 4 is set. A finish under the lights. What more could you want?
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Phoenix Raceway*Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. ETNBC/MRNFor the second straight season, a champion will be crowned in the desert.